For 13 years of his life, Bisons sparkplug guard Bolatito 'Tito' Obasoto lived in Ibadan, Nigeria with his family. It's the third-largest city by population in Nigeria, and Obasoto went to one of the most prestigious schools in the country. 
 
He vividly remembers playing soccer in the fields with his friends. Back home, footy is the biggest sport, and basketball was, at the time, not a major focus for Obasoto.
 
"A lot of the times we wouldn't even have a soccer ball," he says. "We'd get little containers of a beverage can and we'd play soccer with it. It was the most fun ever. We were kids being ignorant. Not a lot of stress."
 
And while Obasoto lived a relatively sheltered life, he and his family still felt the impact of corruption in the country. Regardless as to where you lived, there were warning signs of "ill-intent, local thieves and armed robbery."
 
"When I was younger, I remember our house got broken into," he recalls. 
 
"They were gun point, give me everything you have. It wasn't even like we were in the best neighborhood ever. We were in a little apartment area. That's just how it is all the time. We weren't even surprised that it happened."
 
Over time, Obasoto's parents longed for more for their family. The desire for safety and security brought them to Canada. 
 
"I would just say it's more the environment that you would be in. It would be a way safer environment living here. Even if I had a better household out there, the environment is more corrupt and you're more liable to be in danger. That's just because that's how the environment is."
 
Making the transition to high school at the time, Obasoto had few connections. And because his parents were busy working, providing for the family, he had time on his hands. 
 
That's where basketball enters the picture. 
 
"My parents used to come home late, because they were working all the time, so I would go to the Boys and Girls Club, because that was the only place I could be and I could stay until my parents came back. They had a basketball team over there and I joined the basketball team," he recalls. 
 
"I remember vividly, I just couldn't make a layup. I was just so mad. Me wanting to make the layup turned into me wanting to make a jump shot, turned into my trying to go between the legs and make a cross-over. Now I'm here. I just fell in love with the game."
 
Obasoto credits Peter Smith, who's helped countless African immigrants develop a love for basketball, for introducing him to the sport. His face lights up as he talks about the early mentor. 
 
"To this day I talk to him. He comes to my games. He's the one that really motivated me. He saw the potential in me before anybody else did really. I have to credit a lot of my progress and where I am today to him. Early on in grade eight and grade nine, he would pick me up and a couple of other guys at 6 am to practice before school. I credit all of my progress to him."
 
'I am honestly so grateful that I get to play at this level'
It's not lost on Obasoto how far he's come.
 
Because of basketball, he created friendships in a new country. Because of basketball he gets to travel across the country and obtain a university degree. 
 
"It's bigger than sport for me honestly, the ability to meet new people and engage and be a better human and understand how to interact with people."
 
Off the court, Obasoto is well spoken, compassionate and always willing to listen. When he's on the court, he turns his energy up to an 11. In practice, if he misses a shot, or someone gets by him, you can hear Obasoto express himself very clearly. 
 
It's because he cares. He doesn't take this opportunity for granted. 
 
"I truly enjoy playing basketball. It's the highlight of my day every single day. No matter what is happening outside of basketball I know I can go to a practice or go to the gym and have fun," he says. 
 
"I am honestly so grateful that I get to play at this level. I feel like it would be a disservice if I didn't play with emotion or the passion that I do because I would just be disrespecting the game and the opportunity that I've been given. I enjoy every single moment of it."
 
Obasoto's numbers back up the work he puts in, and the time he commits to the sport. 
 
His 31 steals are a career high and are tied for ninth in the Canada West conference. As a team, Manitoba averages 9.1 steals per game, the second most in the conference. 


 
Offensively, Obasoto scored a career high 20 points against the best team in the conference, Victoria, two weeks ago.
 
He drives downhill hard and when he attacks the rim with confidence, few can stop 'the pest,' a nickname coined due to Obasoto's relentless full-court pressure on defence and full-on commitment to get to the basket on offence. 
 
"I try not to cheat myself. At the end of the day our team is so deep. I know if I give 100 percent now, the next man coming in, there's not going to be a drop off. I may as well give it all I have, and when I'm tired we have another guy coming in that gives 100 percent of their effort. Every time I'm on, I'm thinking 100 percent now I can rest later."
 
Everything Obasoto talks about with sport is true. But he wants people to know that he's more than just another black basketball player. 
 
In the classroom, he's in his third year in civil engineering. He loves "the physics and the math and bringing an idea to life." 
 
Math is therapeutic to him. When he solves a complicated puzzle or equation, it makes him feel good. 
 
Aside from that, Obasoto is as real as it gets. He can carry on a conversation on a variety of topics, and more than that, he looks for ways to engage with others. He's a leader in every sense of the word. 
 
"As a black athlete, you can do a lot more things that just be good at your sport. The biggest part is learning how to inspire people and give people a better sense of oh, I can do that just based off your actions and the way you carry yourself. You have to think bigger than basketball. It's so much bigger than basketball," he says.
 
"Your interactions with people, your energy in how you conversate with people. Keep that in mind. A lot of people, on the outside looking in, they're thinking he's a basketball player they don't want to talk to me and so on. We can change that narrative if everyone has a better mindset and carries themselves a different way."

Catch Tito and the Bisons basketball team February 21-25 at the Canada West Men's Basketball Playoff Tournament, hosted by Manitoba. Click here for details.